Foot operated shoe brushing device



May 9, 1950 F. E. HUMMEL 2,507,407

FOOT OPERATED SHOE BRUSHING DEVICE Filed Feb. T, 1948 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l y 1950 F. E. HUMMEL 2,507,407

FOOT OPERATED SHQE BRUSHING DEVICE Filed Feb. 7, 1948 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Z; \H mm a jea zJmu/md direction widthwise of the users shoes. A pair of coil springs 36 are each secured at one end to the horizontal leg of one of the two angle irons 32 while the other ends of said springs are anchored to the slide plate 221. It will be apparent that springs 36 constantly urge the brush 29 toward the users foot and, therefore, toward brush 28; and that said springs serve to press brushes 28 and 29 against the shoe being brushed, while at the same time being yieldable enough to enable the user to push his foot into the space between said brushes without undue effort.

Another coil spring 31 is connected at one end to slide plate 22 and at the other end to platform 26; and it will be evident that the latter spring constantly urges the slide plate rearwardly.

The brushes function by reciprocating horizontally, lengthwise of the shoe, and they all move together, relatively to the platform 20, forwardly and rearwardly in successive strokes.

It will now be explained how the reciprocation of the brushes is accomplished as a result of pressing down with the foot on platform as. The downward pressure causes post 15 to move downwardly, together with all the parts supported thereon, against the opposition of spring 14; and, as previously stated, this causes post l5 and cap l9 to rotate. In this instance the groove 16 comprises a little more than two complete convolutions. Consequently, a full downward movement causes post I5 and cap IE to make slightly more than two revolutions during each downward stroke, and again during each upward stroke. When the operator has pressed the platform and post all the way down, as shown in Fig. 1, he releases the pressure, thus allowing spring l4 to restore the aforesaid parts to their up positions, as depicted in Fig. 2; and he may repeat the operation as many times as desired.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that cap [9 has four radially extending arms HM; and it will further be seen that there is an arm 40 pivotally connected at M to the slide 22, and that there is a stop pin 42 secured to the slide plate against which said arm 49 is urged by a coil spring 43.

During each downward stroke ca I9 rotates clockwise, as viewed in Figs. 3 and -making two complete revolutions per downward stroke; and it makes an equal number of revolutions during each upward stroke. Manifestly, as cap 19 rotates clockwise from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4, the radial arm I911, shown bearing against arm 4|] will push said arm 49 against stop pin 42 and, consequently, cause the slide plate 22 to move forwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to a suflicient extent to allow the active radial arm to escape arm 40. The forward movement of the slide plate efiects a like movement of the brushes, and as soon as the momentarily active arm has rotated to the point of escape, the slide plate is quickly returned to the starting point by spring 31, carrying the brushes with it. The nest arm lilo; thereupon engages arm 49 and thus brings about another forward stroke of the slide plate, which in turn, is followed by another rearward stroke, as before; and so on until the slide plate and brushes have been reciprocated eight times. This is followed by two counterclockwise revolutions of cap l9, incidentally to upward movement of the post; but during this period the slide plate and brushes are not reciprocated, and the radial arms lSa freely escape the arm 40 because the latter is not restrained against clockwise rotation, except for the slight restraint effected by spring 43. It will be seen that what I have illustrated and described is a one-way reciprocating means. Any mechanism which would cause reciprocation of the brushes during the upward strokes of the post would entail the need for such a forceful restoring spring as to require an excessive downward pressure, except perhaps for people of considerable weight. Ob-

viously, a cam drive which would reciprocate the brushes during the upward as well as the downward strokes would be even simpler than the oneway drive I have shown and described, and I do not wish to exclude from the scope of my invention any shoe-brushing devices involving my inventive concept but designed to reciprocate the brushes during both the upward and downward strokes or during only the upward strokes. I have not shown any such alternative arrangements because I consider it sufficient to disclose the superior embodiment of the invention which I have already disclosed.

There are, of course, many possible modifications and alternatives within the purview of my invention, and, accordingly, I do not wish to be limited save as indicated by the terms of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A shoe-brushing device, comprising: a base, a round vertical post journaled in said base for both rotation about its vertical axis and lengthwise vertical reciprocation, means for limiting the vertical movement of said post, a spring continuously urging said post toward the upper limit of its travel, said post having an external helical groove, means carried by said base and engaging said groove whereby said post is rotated in one direction in response to each downward movement thereof, and rotated in the opposite direction in response to each upward movement thereof, a foot-rest platform mounted upon and carried by said post and rotatable relatively thereto, a slide supported by and mounted immediately below said platform and reciprocable in a horizontal path relatively to said platform, a spring biasing said slide toward one end of its path, a pivoted arm carried by said slide, stop means for limiting rotation of said pivoted arm in one direction a plurality of arms carried by and extending radially from the upper end of said post, said radial arms being arranged to successively engage said pivoted arm and thereby to force said slide toward the other end of its path when said post is rotated in one direction, thereby causing said slide to reciprocate along its horizontal path, said pivoted arm being yieldable in the other direction of rotation so that when said post rotates in the return direction said radial arms are ineffective upon said slide, and a plurality of brushes carried by said slide and disposed in engaging relation to a shoe superimposed upon said platform.

2. In a shoe-brushing device, a base, a round vertical post journaled in said base for both rotary and lengthwise reciprocation, said post extending upwardly from said base and having an external helical groove, a pin affixed to said base and engaging said groove and effective thereby to cause rotary reciprocation of said post in response to lengthwise reciprocation thereof, a spring biasing said post upwardly from said base, a, foot-rest platform pivotally mounted on the top of said post and supported thereby, a slide plate disposed immediately below said platform and supported thereby, said slide plate being reciprocable lengthwise of said platform along a,

mally holding said pivoted arm against said stop 10 Number means, said radial arms being effective, when rotating in a direction to press said pivoted arm against said stop means, to move said slide plate toward the other end of said path, said pivoted arm being arranged to allow said radial arms to escape engagement therewith when said slide plate has reached a predetermined limit of travel along said path, so that the slide plate is freed to return along said path to a position wherein it is engageable by a succeeding radial arm, and a 20 plurality of brushes carried by said slide plate and 50 disposed as to be engageable with a shoe superimposed upon said platform.

FREDERICK E. HUMMEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 130,829 Terheun et a1 Aug. 27, 1872 854,407 Christenson May 21, 1907 965,176 Geraldson July 26, 1910 1,323,409 Rude Dec. 2, 1919 1,511,618 Koch et a1 Oct. 14, 1925 1,574,756 John et al July 28, 1925 1,662,498 Gill et a1 Mar. 13, 1928 2,290,454 Steinberg July 21, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 87,363 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1920 

